* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Calypso both in and out of universe. His portrayals vary as does where his powers come from and one's interpretation can come from whether or not one considers the games to be in canon with one another. He's pretty stoic in Black but very hammy in the first game. In Twisted metal 1, his powers came from a demon named Black, in 2 he stole them from the demon minion, in the reboot, the preacher implies that he is the devil himself. His interactions with his daughter seem to cast him as a more WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, and the control he has over his power of wishes is put into question.** There's also his treatment of Mortimer in Head-On. Was it a genuine PetTheDog moment, or a [[PragmaticVillainy calculated move]] to get rid of a supernatural WildCard? Especially, seeing as in the second Game, Mortimer actually posed a threat to him.** Then there's his interaction with Mike & Stu in Twisted Metal 2. Did he purposefully trick them into jumping head first off a building, or was he willing to give them the plane tickets just have their disappointment be the deception and he was genuinely shocked at their stupidity? In the first game, he gave Hammerhead's drivers, Dave & Mike, what they wanted without bothering to trick them (be it his harem, or expensive tires, another mundane monetary loss that Calypso could cope with just like the tickets).* BaseBreaker: The direction the PS3 {{Revival}} took for the series; giving more engaging and complex storylines to four distinctive drivers, thus relagating the past drivers to oblivion and making their cars free for {{Mook}}s from the aforementioned quartet to drive; this rubs the wrong way for fans of the old installments where one could see each vehicle (and driver) getting a backstory, while others likes only 4 characters getting better developed stories, instead of many drivers getting {{Excuse Plot}}s to force their presence in the games. However, this does still feel off considering Twisted Metal Black managed to give the characters more developed stories as well as individual cars.* BrokenBase: The people who like 3 and 4 against the people who like the rest of the series.* ContestedSequel: Twisted Metal 3 and 4, since they were developed by a different team.* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Sweet Tooth and Dollface's stories in the PS3 rival. The more the story advances, the more the player learns about how horrible both of them are, and has no reason to want them to get what they want. [[spoiler: Probably why they end up as [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]].]] Although Sweet Tooth hasn't been exactly the nicest guy, it's kinda expected.** The bigger problem is that in the PS3 game, the Story mode consists of only three characters, and they're all evil mass murderers, with no sympathetic or anti-hero characters to offer up as in the previous games. While they all get what they deserve, always controlling a villain really does sap from the experience. Contrast the coolness of Sweet Tooth in ''Black'', where his goal is to toy with and eventually kill Calypso (something the player can rally behind), to the more disturbing version in the following gen, where his goal is to kill his daughter, the "bitch who got away."** ''Twisted Metal 3'' had this problem as well. With Calypso intentionally screwing everybody over in very bizarre ways, there was no point in ever doing the campaign modes for the characters.* EnsembleDarkHorse:** Buster Cobb's probably the only ''Twisted Metal 3'' character (or rather, car) that has at least some semblance of fan-following. ** Quatro and Orbital are probably the only characters introduced in ''4'' that fans like, though this is attributed to either making a wish that was worth a damn, or being a {{Badass}} bounty hunter that doesn't fall for the traps of Twisted Metal. It also helps that the rest of the cast are, put very bluntly, annoying and cartoonish.** Mr. Ash, the original driver of Darkside, only had a story mode in the original ''Twisted Metal'', but he's still easily one of the fan favorites to this day. [[spoiler: It probably has something to do with being actually {{Satan}}, and also seemingly the source of Calypso's powers in the first place.]]** Mike and Stu from ''Twisted Metal 2'' (and to a lesser extent, Jeff and Mike from the original ''Twisted Metal''), for being ThoseTwoGuys that provide ComicRelief - oh, and driving [[TheBigGuy a giant-ass monster truck]] [[CarFu that can crush other cars under its wheels alone]].** [[{{Goth}} Raven]], the driver of Shadow from ''TwistedMetalBlack'' - while a good deal of the new or revisioned characters from ''Black'' were generally approved of by the fandom, Raven gets this taken UpToEleven, often being used in fanworks as Shadow's driver beyond the ''Black'' universe. [[spoiler: This may or may not have been helped by her ''Twisted Metal: Lost'' profile stating how she had become [[AHeroToHisHometown a hero to Midtown]], [[DarkIsNotEvil using her ocultic powers to protect the innocent]], [[PayEvilUntoEvil and to deliver vengeance upon the]] AxCrazy {{SerialKiller}}s terrorizing the streets.]]** Agent Shepard, the latest driver of Crimson Fury in ''Twisted Metal: Head On'', for being GenreSavvy enough [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim by straight-up arresting Calypso]] instead of trying to make a wish, and also by [[ShutUpHannibal defying Calypso's]] HannibalLecture before giving him TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.* EvilIsCool: Both Sweet Tooth and Calypso. Sure, one's a MonsterClown, and the other's a JackassGenie, but they're so damn ''awesome'' about it.* EvilIsSexy: Dollface in the 2012 {{PS3}} remake; see HollywoodHomely. From the same game, [[spoiler:the resurrected Sophie Kane/Sweet Tooth during TheStinger]].* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The Antarctica level in ''Twisted Metal 2''. Back in 1996, the imagery of [[GlobalWarming collapsing polar glaciers]] wasn't quite so unsettling.** Simon Whittlebone, a frustrated architect who uses an armored and heavily weaponized front loader dubbed "Mr. Slam". to wreak havoc and destruction. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer Marvin Heemeyer]], a frustrated repair shop owner who used an armored and heavily weaponized bulldozer the press dubbed the "Killdozer" to do the same thing in a real life small town. * GameBreaker: Playable versions of bosses tend to be these. There's a reason why they are usually not available at the start of the game, having to be unlocked either through game progress or cheat codes. Twisted Metal 4, however is notable with it's super variants of the previous characters (Super Axel's shockwave for example, knocked all enemies REALLY far away, had 360 degree coverage, and set fire to them as well), or just plain cheap like Moon Buggy's Quasars. * HollywoodHomely: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} with Dollface in the [=PS3=] remake. She is a former supermodel who got [[MinorInjuryOverReaction a (minor) scar on her face]], decided that [[BeautyToBeast her beauty was ruined]] ([[BlatantLies even though it clearly wasn't]], [[OnlySaneMan as her doctor could plainly see]]), and started wearing a mask to cover up her "imperfection." David Jaffe [[http://comic-con.gamespot.com/comic-con-uncut/p-12.html?tag=topslot;title;5 said (about 14 minutes in)]] that the character is [[AcceptableTargets a satire of the extreme standards of beauty that women are faced with by the media and pop culture...]] while [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial flatly denying]] that [[TakeThat the character was based on his ex-wife]].** A more straight reaction from the fandom was in regards to [[{{Yandere}} Bloody Mary]], who suffered from being "[[AllOfTheOtherReindeer always a bridesmaid, never a bride]]" supposedly due to being uglier than all the other girls: but there's nothing really "ugly" about her character model, and she indeed looks pretty damn attractive - granted, [[LoveMakesYouCrazy going absolutely crazy for somebody's love would be considered a bit of a turnoff]], [[InLoveWithYourCarnage but even then some consider it a turnON instead]].* HolyShitQuotient: The final bosses in the reboot, assuming it's your first time fighting them. Bonus points for Sweet Tooth's Carnival of Carnage.* IAmNotShazam: The MonsterClown is Needles Kane. His ''car'' is Sweet Tooth. The [[CanonDiscontinuity third and fourth games]] screw this up and call the clown Sweet Tooth, but Incog Inc. makes a point of having characters only ever call him Needles.** On the other hand, {{Fandom}} often uses "Sweet Tooth" as an InSeriesNickname for how people identify Needles as a SerialKiller.** A few fan trailers for movies make this mistake, using the character titles to identify the ''cars'' instead of the ''drivers''. Then again, considering just how integral those {{CoolCar}}s are to the series, and how some [[LegacyCharacter sometimes have their drivers shifted out for newcomers]], it's somewhat forgivable.* IdiotPlot: ''Twisted Metal III'' is the worst offender. Among the wishes of the competitors include; wanting to have a barbecue, wanting to "hang with (his) homies", wanting to party all night long, and wanting people to see (his) inner child. Why in the world would ''anyone'' go through a life-threatening contest to get things they could do themselves?** Individual drivers throughout the series often tend to have questionable motivations for risking their lives. Angel, Thumper's new driver from ''Head-On'', is one such stand-out, risking life and limb and leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.... just so Calypso can pimp her ride. ''It has a freaking flame-thrower, lady, what more can you possibly want!?''* MemeticMutation: From ''TwistedMetalBlack'', there's always Sweet Tooth's PreMortemOneLiner: "Shut up and ''bleed'', you [[CurseCutShort motherfu]]-(ScareChord!)"** "[[VerbalBusinessCard I am Calypso]], [[AWinnerIsYou and I thank you for playing Twisted Metal!]]"** From [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lvp9rDSErHs Charlie Kane's "Lost Ending"]] to the original ''Twisted Metal'' there are two:*** (Sips potion) "Oh, that's ''strange'', it tastes like- '''''[[TheScream GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!]]'''''"*** (After Calypso [[WeCanRuleTogether offers Charlie to become his personal driver]]) "Sounds good to me, ''baby!''"* {{Narm}}: The "Lost" endings to the original ''Twisted Metal'', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xrye_87H0eQ in]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smw8chspbTs all]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvsUm3DWdsA their]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHFCjDbxvII live-action]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztD1r6pKJLc glory.]]** NarmCharm: Calypso's voice in the 2012 revival. It's [[GutturalGrowler growly as all hell]], which is fine, but it's also...a little bit congested. That said, Calypso is ''hilariously'' blood thirsty, and the voice just captures that school-boy ant-burning glee so perfectly, stuffed-up-nose and all.* NightmareFuel: [[NightmareFuel/TwistedMetal Has itīs own page]]* TheScrappy: The clowns in ''Twisted Metal 4'', which served as a painful reminder that the series was getting more and more cartoonish...at least until ''[[DarkerAndEdgier Black]].''* ReplacementScrappy: Cousin Eddy in ''Head-On'' is often treated as a poor replacement for Minion, with many fans viewing him as an [[UnfortunateImplications offensive hillbilly stereotype]] who is [[DegradedBoss much weaker when you play as him than when you face him as a boss fight]].** Few if any of the characters in ''4'' are liked, but Captain Grimm counts as he was a lame pirate retool of Mister Grimm.* SpecialEffectsFailure: The "Lost" endings are full of these, particularly whenever a contestant's winnings are raised up by Calypso... which consists of the camera panning ''down'' to them.** Bonus points for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKWLq1OQ3tI Needle's Kane's ending]] where upon further inspection, the "doors" are being held by visible hands.* TearJerker: [[Tearjerker/TwistedMetal Has itīs own page]]* ThatOneBoss: ** Dark Tooth in ''2''. The vehicle was a larger, black-painted version of Sweet Tooth's ice cream truck that followed you relentlessly around Hong Kong and launched multiple attacks on you at the same time. Particularly frustrating was that it would freeze you while launching its specials. It even went so far as to launch the Dark Tooth head from the top. When you finally did destroy the vehicle, the head survived and continued the same search-and-destroy method.** Needles Kane in ''4'' had the Henchmen attack, which sent out three clown heads that followed you through walls, then swarmed around you and bombarded you to death with [[CycleOfHurting various stunning/immobilizing attacks]]. You pretty much had to keep running in a very specific circle around the map, leave a trail of explosives behind you, and pray to god it would kill him before you ran out of road. May be the [[SNKBoss cheapest boss]] in the series; this resulted in many thrown controllers.** This was preceded by Moon Buggy in the same game. Quasars, his special, was basically Outlaw's Tazers combined with Spectre's transparent homing abilities. He fired two or three at the player at once. The Quasars also severely disoriented the gamer by throwing the car every which way. Fortunately, it doesn't last exceptionally long. ** Both bosses in ''Black''. Minion in particular was a pain, since his shields become very hard to hit when he's down to one or two. Then there's Warhawk, a helicopter that has the unfair advantage of aerial attacks, in addition to the first half of the fight being a PuzzleBoss where you must disable the tanker trucks, which are a DegradedBoss version of Minion, and detonate them underneath him when he flies over the helipad to destroy his shield.* TrueArtIsAngsty: The best games in the series, ''Twisted Metal Black'', and ''Twisted Metal 2012'' are also the darkest; and fans love them for that, too.* UncannyValley: [[CameBackWrong Charlie Kane's appearance]] in ''Black'' deliberately invokes this to [[NightmareFuel horrifying]] effect. [[{{Gorn}} Bonus points for still having]] [[BoomHeadshot the hole where the bullet blew his brains out]].* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: The fact that Needles and Marcus Kane, despite being split personalities (Needles being a violent, psychotic half and Marcus being his sanity and reason), exist as two separate entities, drive two separate vehicles, and constantly battle each other until the Dark Tooth ending from ''Head On'' where [[spoiler: Needles and Marcus meet in the middle of a field curious about seeing the other but ultimately decide to work together, resulting in an unstoppable force of destruction.]]** David Jaffe was accused of this by some members of Sony when he was making ''TwistedMetalBlack'', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9iJGPfvw2A which he hilariously shot down in the "Twisted Metal: The Dark Past" documentary]].--> '''David Jaffe:''' "It was an opportunity for people to act like [[AuthorTract I wanted to say something and I wanted to make a statement]] and I was like '[[SophisticatedAsHell Please]], [[GetOut get the]] ([[SoundEffectBleep BLEEP]]) [[GetOut out of my kitchen]], [[TheRealMan I'm trying to cook this]] mother-([[ClusterBleepBomb BLEEP]])ing stew.'"* TheWoobie: Dollface in ''Black''. "I'm going to be punished forever and ever..."